BURN THE HORSE
BB STATE BOX SCORE
UALR took control early in the second half and never let go, winning 69-56 over SMU on Saturday in the second semifinal of the Hoops for Hope Classic in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
UALR took control early in the second half and never let go, winning 69-56 over SMU on Saturday in the second semifinal of the Hoops for Hope Classic in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
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69 56 |
UALR (4-2), which has won three consecutive games this week
all by double digits, advances to meet South Carolina at 8:30 p.m. tonight in
the championship game. SMU (5-1) loses for the first time under Coach Larry
Brown.
Just like the victories against Wisconsin-Milwaukee and
Jacksonville, UALR used the exact same recipe. UALR played solid defense,
spread the scoring, and didn’t let up in the final minutes. But this was
supposed to be a major step up from those victories. SMU was undefeated and had
rolled through its first five games.
“I’m really proud of this basketball team,” UALR Coach Steve
Shields said. “I don’t think it’s just in one week’s time. I think it’s a
progression from the start of the season. It’s about a team that has bought in
to being something bigger than themselves.”
Juniors Will Neighbour and Leroy Isler led the way with 15
points apiece while freshman James White added 12 points. UALR shot 50 percent
from the field and 53 percent from three-point range on the night.
But it was at the other end of the court where the Trojans
were most impressive. SMU shot just 37 percent from the field. And leading
scorer Jalen Jones, who was averaging more than 18 points per game, fouled out
without scoring a point. Second leading scorer Ryan Manuel went 1 for 10 from
the field and finished with 3 points. White drew the assignment on Jones while
Isler locked down Manuel.
“James did a good job of keeping him off the glass,” Shields
said. “And Manuel is a great player. That’s another guy Leroy guarded tonight.”
UALR jumped out to a 15-9 lead after a three-pointer by
Taggart Lockhart with 12:42 left. But the Trojans would go almost seven minutes
before scoring again. SMU led 19-15 when Isler hit his second three-pointer of
the half.
UALR closed the half strong, taking a 32-30 lead on a layup
by John Gillon with 22 seconds left. But SMU led 33-32 at halftime after a late
three-point play by Nick Russell.
UALR locked down defensively in the second half and took the
lead for good at 45-42 on a layup and free throw by Neighbour with 10:47 left. Neighbour
hit another jumper, SMU missed two free throws and Neighbour scored on a layup
for a 49-42 lead.
SMU only got as close as five points the remainder of the
game.
“We’ve spent a lot of time in the film room,” Shields said
of trying to teach while saving his players legs for games. “We’ve got to
continue to teach at shootaround and we’ve got to teach in the film room. They’ve
been good to this point.”
